Slack Channel: commonwealth / Events (C0506JPET2N)
Ingested: 2026-04-22 | Source: Slack workspace economicscience.slack.com Primary contributors: Ken Yang (UNYCKRMC6), Liam Wilkinson (UKD25NV0A), Floyd Marinescu (UKQ1MQDMW), Philippe Chabot (UKTJP503G)
Channel Overview
This channel tracks Common Wealth Canada events, meetups, video productions, speaker outreach, and BIEN Congress organizing. Heavily used by Ken for event logistics and video production updates. Covers LVT advocacy events, interview productions, and campaign promotion.
BIEN 2026 Congress — Toronto
Summary
- BIEN Congress coming to Toronto, August 20–23, 2026 (official Congress starts Aug 20; “Canada Day” pre-event on Aug 19)
- Website: https://bien2026.net
- UBI Works / SES is a key organizing partner
- 55 presentation slots; as of mid-March 2026, only ~10 proposals received (1 Canadian)
Canada Day (Wed Aug 19, 2026)
- Daytime pre-event, separate from main Congress
- Venue TBD (not TMU); ticket price ~$25, separate registration
- Evening meetup planned at Electric Mind (Ken pitching to Chris Ford)
- Sheila wants to invite: food community, doctors, faith groups, media (CBC/Star), City of TO, United Way, Toronto Community Foundation — broad-tent GTHA
UBI Works Role
- Drive registration (email, social), speaker spotlights, live broadcast
- Local meetup “Canada Day” evening
- Create 2026 Congress comms/marketing plan (coordinating document for all allies)
- Moonshot: invite high-profile influencers to attend or send statements
Moonshot Influencer List
- Google Sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_8Nt5FlRU6mo0R3KEdjpWV8ncnDuvIrKjAMGjMPAw6o/
- Co-building with BIEN organizers including Sheila Regehr and Ben (BICN)
Proposed Talks
- Ken: 1) Job Automation / Post-Labor Economy; 2) Movement Building (convincing skeptics / GBI vs UBI)
- Floyd/Liam: LVT talk (if CANCEA modelling ready in time)
- Conrad Shaw + Scott Santens: Film proposal; Conrad considering renting HotDocs
- Call for proposals deadline was Apr 15; 55 slots total
Key People (BIEN)
- Sheila Regehr — BICN, top priority: getting quality Canadian proposals
- Ben — BIEN Congress organizer (Toronto)
- Jim Mulvale — One of the only Canadian proposals received early
- Conrad Shaw & Scott Santens — Film about basic income proposed for screening
Common Wealth Meetups
Toronto LVT Meetup (April 8–9, 2026)
- Speaker: Eric Lombardi (Strong Towns / More Neighbours / LVT advocate)
- Host venue: Electric Mind (Chris Ford, former CAPCO CEO / Intelliware)
- Electric Mind received $100M investment from Motive Partners (AI-led fintech)
- Chris Ford responded “yes” to hosting in 0 minutes when Ken asked
- Attendance: ~80 RSVPs, expected 50–75% turnout → “Great turnout”
- Ken’s intro: 10-min intro on Land — “one of my better intros” (thanks to Liam for honing)
- Video recap: Full meetup video: https://youtu.be/bivIpmONuuU
- Speaker clips on Common Wealth YouTube:
- Eric Lombardi: “How Ontario Can Still Win”: https://youtu.be/RQUDtDhy5hQ
- Dr. Francis Peddle (Henry George Foundation): https://youtu.be/njV26vaXW6k
- Ken Yang: “Land is a Big Deal” (retitled: “The Answer to Housing Starts with Land”): https://youtu.be/6BQ7W8yl8mw
- Philippe: “incredible event, talk & production quality”
- GenSqueeze promoted the meetup on Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky
- Joe Polito (PPI board member) was there; video from Joe included
Post-Meetup Networking (April 9, 2026)
- Ken had dinner with Ramsey Kilani (stepped down from PPI board; replaced by Saeid Hashemi)
- Ramsey’s group: TO New Liberals — active WhatsApp group
- Resident Georgists in TO YIMBY group: Joe Polito and Ramsey Kilani, plus Erich Jacoby-Hawkins (Barrie)
- Ken is considering starting a WhatsApp activist group for CW/Georgists in Toronto
- Ken: “might’ve been the biggest convention of Georgists in GTA in modern history”
Toronto LVT Meetup — Next Events (Ken)
- TO New Liberals x More Neighbours TO x Common Wealth events in works, date TBD (April 2026)
- Ken was requested to give a 30-min presentation on Land to TO New Liberals
- Ottawa event with Eric Lombardi: potential week of June 22, 2026
- Eric’s manager Melody connecting Ken with Shane Parrish (Build Canada SWF memo, lives in Ottawa)
- Frank Peddle (Henry George Foundation Canada) suggestions for next meetups:
- Toronto: Feb/March 2026 (done ✓)
- Calgary or Edmonton: next up
- Ottawa: Fall 2026 — to coincide with National Summit of community land trusts (Sept/Oct)
- Making inroads with Canadian Network of Community Land Trusts
Vancouver Meetup Planning
- Meetup signup template: https://www.commonwealth.ca/vancouver-meetup
- Typeform alternative: https://www.commonwealth.ca/vancouver-meetup-typeform (Ken leaning away from typeform)
- Simon Dahonick organizing Vancouver
- Ken decided Google Forms > Typeform for meetup signups: free, multi-editor, grassroots UX, 1-screen
BC Trip Summary (Nov 2025)
Video Productions / Common Wealth Channel
Geoffrey Hinton Interview (Aug 19, 2025)
- Ken interviewed Dr. Geoffrey Hinton (“Godfather of AI”) on AI risk, future of work, and UBI
- Scheduled Tuesday Aug 19, 2PM ET; Liam was backend producer
- Hinton responded to outreach and agreed within hours
- YouTube: https://youtu.be/75edaaI1-gY
- Ken’s X thread: https://x.com/kenjaminyang/status/1958246053951713635
- Subscriber suggested using Hinton interview in MP lobbying campaign — this sparked the AI + UBI campaign idea
- Philippe: “Very interesting lobby faith group like Hinton said in your interview even the Vatican has invited him to speak about AI and job displacement”
Alaska Permanent Fund Interview (Aug 2025)
- Common Wealth Canada’s Liam Wilkinson interviewed:
- Dr. Jack Hickel (Alaska Permanent Fund Defenders, son of Governor Walter Hickel)
- Rick Halford (Former Alaska State Senate President)
- Topic: Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend as UBI model; under attack from those who want to raid it
- YouTube: https://youtu.be/hoGMwNuDTN4
- Promoted via X, Bluesky, Facebook — coincided with email to full list (Aug 29, 2025)
UBI in a Post-Labour Economy Panel (Oct 2025)
- Ken hosted David Shapiro (184K YouTube subs) and Dalibor Petrovic (HBR Advisory Council)
- Oct 17, 2025, 1PM ET; unlisted until supporting materials ready
- YouTube: https://youtu.be/jX21Y9JcLsI
- David Shapiro channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DaveShap — “Liberate humanity from drudgery”
- Topic suggested by David: “Is UBI communism?” — he’s for market-oriented capital formation / SWF
Yanis Varoufakis Interview (Feb 12, 2025)
- Common Wealth Canada interview: Wed Feb 12, 2025, 10:30AM PT / 1:30PM ET (8:30PM Athens)
- Topics: universal dividends, modern feudalism — themes from Yanis’ advocacy
- Common Wealth podcast page: https://www.commonwealth.ca/podcast
- Yanis email went out to list; Liam scripted questions narrative arc
- Related to LPC Liberal Leadership campaign timing
2025 Town Hall (Dec 16, 2025)
- UBI Works x Common Wealth Canada joint town hall
- 555 registered; peaked at ~334 live viewers (60% of capacity, expected range)
- YouTube: https://youtu.be/R0s8hsRPwwk
- Zoom webinar holds 300 without upgrade
Key People
Eric Lombardi
- Strong Towns / More Neighbours TO / LVT vocal proponent
- “We saw his evolution from cautious supporter to vocal proponent of LVT”
- Agreed to speak in Toronto in 0 seconds; agreed to Ottawa event week of June 22
- Manager: Melody (connecting Ken with Shane Parrish)
Chris Ford
- Former CAPCO CEO; now at Electric Mind (formerly Intelliware, rebranded/pivoted to AI fintech)
- Electric Mind: $100M Motive Partners investment
- Hosts Common Wealth meetups in Toronto
Dr. Francis Peddle
- President, Henry George Foundation of Canada
- Longest-running Georgist in the room; “seeing his incredibly long years of work bearing fruit”
- Key organizer for meetup scheduling, Ottawa suggestions
Joe Polito
- PPI board member (Toronto); present at April 2026 Toronto meetup
Ramsey Kilani
- Stepped down from PPI board (replaced by Saeid Hashemi)
- TO New Liberals group leader; active WhatsApp group
- Dinner with Ken after April 2026 meetup
Saeid Hashemi
- Replaced Ramsey Kilani on PPI board
- Resident Georgist in TO YIMBY group
Shane Parrish
- Author of Build Canada SWF memo; lives in Ottawa
- Left Floyd on read previously; Melody (Eric Lombardi’s manager) is brokering intro to Ken
Martin Adams
- Vancouver-based entrepreneur, author of LAND: A New Paradigm for a Thriving World
- Indigo book signing event in Vancouver, April 27, 2025
- Ken drafted personal invitations to Vancouver contacts
David Shapiro
- YouTube: 184K subscribers; Post-Labor Economics creator
- Wears Star Trek uniform in videos; believes in technological abundance
- Pro market-oriented capital formation / SWF
Dalibor Petrovic
- HBR Advisory Council member; co-panelist on post-labor economy episode
Community Platforms
New Platforms Noted
- Digg (Reddit competitor): team member U09GHK05HT8 claimed https://digg.com/georgism community
- U09GHJWK47Q passed on moderation role; others interested
Social Platforms Used
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CommonWealthca
- X: @commonwealth_ca
- Bluesky: @ubiworks.bsky.social, @commonwealth.ca (various)
- Facebook: /commonwealthcan
- Mastodon: cross-posting bridged via Ken’s setup
Newmode Petitions on UBIWorks.ca (natively hosted as of Jan 2025)
- City Council: https://www.ubiworks.ca/city-council
- MP Petition: https://www.ubiworks.ca/mp-petition
- Provincial: https://www.ubiworks.ca/provincial-petition
- Letter to Editor: https://www.ubiworks.ca/letter-to-editor
- CCB: https://www.ubiworks.ca/ccb-petition
- How to Pay: https://www.ubiworks.ca/basic-income-is-affordable
Note: Channel has more history (hasMore: true). Oldest messages in this batch go back to late 2024 / LPC leadership campaign. The channel appears to cover both Common Wealth meetups and broader campaign coordination.